If you grew up watching Full House, you probably remember Jesse & The Rippers, the fictional band fronted by John Stamos’ character, Uncle Jesse. For years, Chicago’s Riot Fest tried to book the “band” — and their persistence finally paid off in 2025 when Stamos took the stage alongside The Beach Boys.
In 2013, Riot Fest revealed that they had attempted to book Jesse & The Rippers for a performance, but the plan never materialized. That didn’t stop the festival from keeping Stamos on their radar in creative ways.
Over the years, Riot Fest organized tributes like a life-size sculpture of Stamos made entirely out of butter, an art show inspired by him and even a butter bust of the actor.
Finally, at Riot Fest 2025, Stamos took center stage. The performer appeared in black leather alongside Beach Boys founding memberMike Love, Bruce Johnston and the band’s current touring lineup on Saturday, September 20.
According to reported setlists, The Beach Boys played hits from the surf rock anthem “Surfin’ USA” to the timeless Pet Sounds era, and naturally, the ‘80s classic “Kokomo.”
But Stamos didn’t just show up unconditionally. According to Riot Fest organizers, the actor had some playful demands before agreeing to perform.
His requests included Riot Fest founder Mike Petryshyn getting a tattoo of him, a Stamos lookalike contest at the festival, a local pizzeria creating a Greek-style pizza in his name and a rule that no one at the festival could make eye contact with his hair.
Petryshyn checked one demand off the list last month by getting a tattoo of a stick of butter, complete with the word “butter” in a faux-Greek font.
Festival organizers confirmed in a press release, “Over the next few weeks in the lead up to the festival, we at Riot Fest will make every effort to complete this list of demands from Mr. John Stamos so he will be in attendance at Riot Fest 2025.”
Stamos first performed with The Beach Boys on July 4, 1985, playing drums at a concert at the Washington Monument, according to CBS. At the time, Stamos was still early in his career, gaining fame as a soap opera heartthrob.
The Beach Boys also made a guest appearance on the 1988 Full House episode featuring Stamos, alongside members Love, Johnston, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson and Al Jardine (Dennis Wilson had passed away five years earlier).
Reflecting on Riot Fest’s years of tributes, Stamos told the crowd, “The years of the festival poking fun at me had been the ‘sweetest… most fun, kind-hearted thing that anyone’s ever done,’” adding it helped keep him humble.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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